Hawaii’s Merrie Monarch Festival celebrates 50 years

Jeanne Cooper, Special to SFGate

Updated 3:15 pm, Friday, March 29, 2013

Dancers are scored on their ability to perform in unison while still expressing individual personality, as in Keolalaulani's 2011 performance of "Ku‘uipo Onaona." The annual Merrie Monarch Festival, which takes place in Hilo, Hawaii, runs from March 31-April 6 this year.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

Dancers are scored on their ability to perform in unison while...

Performances may include hula implements such as the feather rattle (‘uli‘uli), which Hula Hālau ‘O Kamuela used for its winning performance in the 2011 modern (‘auana) division.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

Performances may include hula implements such as the feather rattle...

The modern (‘auana) dances in the competition can feature contemporary costumes as well as more playful tones. In 2011, Kaleo Trinidad's group Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka La (seen here) performed a high-speed mele that won the men's ‘auana division.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

The modern (‘auana) dances in the competition can feature...

After three days of competition and years of preparation, the winners share their joy and excitement with the audience late Saturday night — or early Sunday morning, as the competition wraps up very late. Here kumu hula Kunewa Mook celebrates with his troupe, Hula Hālau ‘O Kamuela, after they won the 2011 award in the women's ‘auna (modern) division.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

After three days of competition and years of preparation, the...

The attentive audience dresses for the festive occasion, allowing for excellent people-watching during the breaks between numbers.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

The attentive audience dresses for the festive occasion, allowing...

A portrait of King Kalakaua, the "Merrie Monarch" who restored public performances of hula in Hawaii after assuming the throne in 1874, watches over the Hilo festival founded in his name 50 years ago.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

A portrait of King Kalakaua, the "Merrie Monarch" who restored...

The diversity of modern Hawaii is reflected in the faces of dancers in the invitation-only competition, the most prestigious in the world.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

The diversity of modern Hawaii is reflected in the faces of dancers...

A procession of actors portraying the Hawaiian royalty of King Kalakaua's era opens and closes each night's performances.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

A procession of actors portraying the Hawaiian royalty of King...

Most performers help make their adornments of leaves and flowers, which may have been picked that day.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

Most performers help make their adornments of leaves and flowers,...

Dancers, including men, often let their hair grow long as part of their preparation for the competition.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

Dancers, including men, often let their hair grow long as part of...

Hilo's open-ended Edith Kanaka‘ole Tennis Stadium allows cool breezes and the occasional bird inside, as well as provides a dramatic backdrop for the dancers' entrance.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

Hilo's open-ended Edith Kanaka‘ole Tennis Stadium allows cool...

Costumes reflect the era in which the songs (mele) were composed, so leg-of-mutton sleeves, velvet gowns, plaid cowboy shirts or jaunty hats such as those seen here may be seen amid the aloha prints.

Photo: Jeanne Cooper, SFGate

Costumes reflect the era in which the songs (mele) were composed,...

Elaborate floral hairpieces are a highlight of both dancers' and audience members' attire.

You won't have to hunt too hard for bright colors on Easter Sunday in Hilo. That's when the 50th anniversary Merrie Monarch Festival begins a week of popular and cultural events capped by four nights of hula: one night of exhibition dances and three nights of solo and group competitions.

Easily the most sought-after tickets in the state this year, the Wednesday night Hō‘ike (exhibition) and Thursday-Saturday contests in the Edith Kanaka‘ole Tennis Stadium have long been sold out. Nevertheless, a week of free events — including a parade, pageant, arts and crafts faire and a beard contest in honor of the festival's namesake, King Kalakaua — will draw thousands of non-ticket holders. Avid hula fans around the world will also gather to watch either live telecasts and streaming video, beginning with a backstage broadcast of Wednesday's noncompetitive performance starting at 9 p.m. Hawaii time (midnight Pacific.) An incentive to stay up: Some of the original winners as well as groups from outside the islands will perform, along with special guests.

The TV/Web versions of the competitions — women soloists on Thursday, traditional (kahiko) men's and women's group numbers on Friday and modern (‘auana) men's and women's dances on Saturday — start at 6 p.m. in Hawaii. Only hālau (troupes) from Hawaii and California will compete in the invitation-only event; the three Golden State groups participating this year include the men of Mark Keali‘i Ho‘omalu's iconoclastic Academy of Hawaiian Arts in Oakland, who tend to come home with more audience appreciation than awards.

I've mostly enjoyed the spectacle on TV and online, but there are certain elements — the scent of tropical flowers, the sound of swishing ti-leaf skirts, the sight of birds flying into the open-ended stadium — that it helps to be there to experience. Check out the attached photos from the 2011 event — and mark your calendars for Dec. 26, 2013, to post ticket requests for next year.

Jeanne Cooper is the former Chronicle Travel Editor and author of SFGate's Hawaii Insider, a blog about Hawaii travel and island culture.